Sunday, October 13, 2013

Crafty: subtle, shrewd, sly.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God has made.He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any of any tree in the garden'?" We see that not all is well in Paradise. The serpent, generally regarded to be a symbol of Satan (the deceiver), is called "crafty." This word has negative connotations, signaling right off the bat that he is trying to work this situation to his own gain. Though he is trying to act like a god, we are also told that he was made. Though he is not all knowing or all wise, his craftiness is immediately put on display as he poses this deceiving question to the woman. His seed of deceit is planted in her heart. This situation sounds very familiar. Post-modernism (the belief that everyone has their own truth) is rampant in our culture, and with that idea comes the temptation to question what God has already said. Did God actually say that homosexuality is a sin?Did God actually say that drinking alcohol in excess is wrong?Did God actually say that sex outside of marriage is sinful? This is why we need to be studying the Word. We cannot know what God has actually said unless we read His Word. Whether the questions presented to us bring into doubt the righteous judgment of God, or twist something He has said, we cannot give an answer if we are not aware of what God has said. As Christ's representatives on earth, it is our responsibility to be living in the truth of all that God has declared in His Word. Our faith and trust in God's judgment is tested whenever we are presented with these types of questions by our culture, and even our friends. It's hard to stand up for the truth when everyone else is rewriting God's Word, but we know that God has given us His Word for a reason, and that persevering in truth is worth the fight! We know that God is good, and we know what He has said. Therefore, we ought to be able to spot deceitful questions when they are presented to us, and use the discernment that God gives to resist the temptation to conform our thinking to the world's.

We will see if the woman knew God's Word, or if she chose to conform her thinking to the serpent's craftiness.